This invention lies in the field of fluid valves and discharge nozzles and more particularly pertains to fluid discharge nozzles wherein a particular discharge pattern, having an automatic continuously changing direction, is desired. The fluid discharge nozzles have particular application in hydrotherapy and are adapted to discharge a turbulent air-water admixture for this purpose.
Fluid valves and discharge nozzles of the prior art include units having manually directionally adjustable outlets such as is disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,336 entitled "NOZZLE WITH DIRECTIONALLY VARIABLE OUTLET" issued on Sept. 9, 1980.
The applicant wishes to make of record the following prior art:
______________________________________ PATENTEE PATENT NO. ______________________________________ Walter C. Lorenzen 3,677,474 Alfred M. Moen 3,997,116 Wayne D. Steimle 3,985,303 J. H. McElroy 1,056,811 ______________________________________
Each of the foregoing patents shows directionally adjustable outlets for water, or water-air admixtures. However, each of the outlet nozzles are manually adjustable. The outlet nozzles of the present invention teach the formation of an outlet jet of fluid of automatically continuously changing direction, the direction changing in accordance with a predetermined flow pattern, e.g., annular or conical.
The following prior art should also be noted:
______________________________________ PATENTEE PATENT NO. ______________________________________ Larry P. Meyer 4,073,438 John H. Drew et al. 3,791,584 Mark Healy 3,627,205 Gerald Tokar 3,608,828 J. O. Hruby, Jr. 2,974,877 British 2,046,129 British 1,250,363 British 1,119,192 J. O. Hruby, Jr. 2,639,191 M. C. Aubert 3,091,400 J. O. Hruby, Jr. 3,357,643 German 719,424 ______________________________________
The Meyer and Drew patents are the closest prior art presently known to the applicant. These patents relate to a sprinkler or shower head having means for automatically orbiting (or gyrating) and rotating a discharge nozzle, under the influence of water pressure. The structure of the Meyer and Drew patents are such as to impart to the discharge nozzle both an oscillating (or gyrating) movement and a rotational movement and would not appear to be suitable in a whirlpool bath environment. The structure of the applicant's invention provides a different and a more readily adjustable, pattern of water discharge than Meyer or Drew, and one that is much more suitable for hydrotherapy than Meyer or Drew.
It is a major object of the novel valve disclosed herein to produce a discharge jet of water and air which continuously generates a conical or annular surface of revolution or variations thereof in a simple and reproducible manner, and which discharge pattern may be readily varied. It is a further object to produce any of the foregoing discharge patterns, with water alone, or an intimate admixture of air and water, or other fluids.
The fluid valve of this invention is therefore capable of continuous therapeutic massaging action over a much wider range of action than the directionally static jets of the prior art, or other discharge nozzles of the prior art.